I hate to post so many times in one week,(like 3 i think..) but i thought this story would bring a smile to at least someone's face.. Ok here it is..

If anyone read my thread about creaky limbs you know i was having a bit of trouble with a red oak bow. Well to fix any misunderstandings i will say right now that the bow came out perfect. It was a red oak stickbow 66" 55# @ 28" right hand bow. This story is about how i figured out the drawback weight.

I went to the local Gander Mtn. and was planning to maybe buy a string, and get the bow's drawback weight tested a little more professionally. Boy was i wrong.  

So anyways we get there, bring the bow out of the truck and walk it to the archery section. This old man was standing behind the counter and as soon as he saw my bow, he asked if i made it, since it didn't have any manufacturer's logo. I said yes, and he continued to tell me that he had a buddy of his that never knew a thing about bow making, or even archery, didn't look anything up, and basically made a bow better than me. I was a little taken back he'd make fun of a 15 year old kid, but hey, whatever, I was a kid on a mission  

Heres a few pics.. I hope this image thing works    

haha great story dave. its always amusing when you find that person who just has to be right about everything.

Some of those older gents behind the counter of the big box outdoor stores really do a disservice to their company and to our sport.  Yes, I've spoken to a few of them over the years with that type of attitude.  

Here's a funny tale about the first bow I ever tried buiding about 20 years ago.  Not having much info on the subject I commenced to shaving down an osage board but pulled a splinter on the back.  Thinking I had it taken care of I, like you, took it to the renowned hunting store of the area to have it weighed, "a little more professionally", too.  The fella running the archery section was helpfull enough and like you I was in the process of pulling the string with the measured arrow to get the draw weight.  But, unlike your bow mine gave way in a big way where the nick in the back had been.  The top limb went sailing past my shoulder straight down the isle behind me just past the nose of my pretty little wife!
I went back to shooting my guns after that and didn't attempt a bow build until about 4 years ago.

 
Great story ChristopherO! I always wanted to try an osage bow..

I had the exact opposite experience at my local archery shop. The actual store is called "Archery Shoppe"

Anyway, when I took my first hickory bow in to be tested, they were actually somewhat impressed. The finish was rough and tool marks were visible, but they said it looked rather strong. They tested it to 60# at 28" and then proceeded to tell me some horror stories about other home made bows.

For instance, someone apparently brought in a bow made from cedar boards randomly glued together. They said that when they tried to pull it, it cracked menacingly and they wouldn't touch it after that. (That guy definitely didn't read Sam or Jawge's tutorials)

Nice looking bow, Dawg!  I wish I had started this at your age instead of waiting 35 years....
Oh, and did the "store clerk" try to sell you a compound?
Anyway here's my story.  Several years ago I came across a slender ash stave.  At the time I didn't know what a stave was.  I'd been reading Traditional Bowhunter magazine and thought how cool and beautiful those sticks were.  So I dug out my Paw's block plane, found an old "C" clamp, bought a small Stanley sureform plane and went to work.  
I didn't know diddly about making a bow. Knew less about tillering or even tuning a bow.  I did know to back the bow and used camo netting.  My bow looked beautiful without even having a finish.  
Since I didn't have a string and didn't know how to make one I went to a local sporting goods store and bought a longbow string.  The store clerk said, "It's gonna break." when he found out I'd made a bow. Well, he was right.  It broke on the third shot.  At least it looked good!
Several years later I'm trying again with the help of you guys I now have a few servicable bows.
Stan

Dave there will always be people that rain on your parade. Never let them slow you down...Your bow looks good much better than my first some 36 years ago...and a good story.  

Thanks guys! Actually he tried to sell me a new stringer which i found quite offensive..    

What was funny is that i saw a sign that said "New Archery Tech needed"      

Looking at the handle pic, Dave, seems to me that you have some bending in the handle area which may cause that creaking sound. Also the taper needs to extend into the board itself at the handle area. I believe Sam has a great pic of that on his site.  I can tell you how to pin it with dowels if you are interested. Jawge

I had a experience with a Gander Mountain "bow expert" when I was shopping for some arrows two years ago. When I asked to look at the Bear Grizzly behind the counter he sort of chuckled and pointed to a gizmo with wheels and told me that if I wanted to be a serious hunter I would be looking at one of them. I went to my car and brought in my first selfbow with a hemp string and told him that something like it had killed more animals in the last several thousand years than any  modern gizmo laser guided wheelie thingie where you do not even touch the string.

Right afterward I sold my wheelie gizmo arrow launcher and have not looked back.

By the way, I have never stepped into another Gander Mountain since either.

Sheesh.